"A Good Man" in The Piker Press

Well, it's up...yes it is. My short story, "A Good Man" is finally in this week's issue of The Piker Press . I hope you will take the time to cruise on over and have a look :-)

Name That Novel #25

And here are lines from a beloved favorite of all those yound and old. See if you can name the author and title.

"Money is a needful and precious thing, and when well used, a noble thing, but I never want you to think it is the first or only prize to strive for. I'd rather see you poor men's wives, if you were happy, beloved, contented, than queens on thrones, without self-respect and peace."

Congrats to April! It's Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Name That Poet #11

See whether you can recall the author of these lines -- the name, please of this nineteenth century British poet.

The grey sea and the long black land;
And the yellow half-moon large and low;
And the startled little waves that leap
In fiery ringlets from their sleep,
As I gain the cove with pushing prow,
And quench its speed i' the slushy sand.

Then a mile of warm sea-scented beach;
Three fields to cross till a farm appears;
A tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch
And blue spurt of a lighted match,
And a voice less loud, through its joys and fears,
Than the two hearts beating each to each!

No moss shall grow under her feet :-) Congrats to Tina who answered correctly with Robert Browning

Pointing in the Right Direction -- Author Success

Debra Riley-Magnus is a marketing and advertising professional and runs an author success coaching business. As a FB friend, I found myself directed to her series of articles on building an author platform and planning the successful book launch. There are (or will be) twelve articles, starting with "But ... I'm a writer, not a business person!". Let's face it. Many authors are solitary, if not shy characters. It's difficult to get out there and sell. But it's also a widely overlooked part of the plan when authors do not start building a platform, network to increase awareness and friends, and at the very least create interest BEFORE the book comes out.

In any case, if this is something you've often thought about, please read her articles. Debra offers many practical tips to get you started and give you confidence so even the shy, solitary you can be successful in your book-selling endeavors.

Author Success

Let's Start at the Ending

In writing, just as in reading, we are instructed to start at the beginning and work forward to the end. However, there is a situation in writing when you might want to consentrate on the ending before completing previous chapters. The point in time you most likely would need this tactic is when the plot is stuck in a rut, you can't think how to push forward no matter how you try, but you're close, so very close. Skip to the last chapter. If you've done your planning with an outline and know where you want your story to end up, then write it. Allowing that scene to come out, making it come alive with all its description, dialog, and action, might very well help you finish. Once you have written it, work backwards to develop and write those previous events.

I've always felt that outlines are an organized prewrite actitivity. However, its rigid structure can be and should be tweeked here and there as you are writing your story. Of course, there is the chance that it will back you into a corner, and your creative ingenuity won't help you escape. (And here you thought outlines, all that beautiful planning, were supposed to keep that from happening!) Welcome to the writer's world where characters often decide to rebel and go where they want the story to take them. Just remember, no matter how far estray you may go and find yourself in that corner, there are tricks of the trade to get back on track. And finally, my best piece of advice is to KEEP WRITING! That's a must. It will all work out in the .... ending!

Name That Poet #10

Try your hand at naming the American Poet who penned this poem.




Hunters, where does Hope nest?
Not in the half-oped breast,
Nor the young rose,
Nor April sunrise—those
With a quick wing she brushes,
The wide world through,
Greets with the throat of thrushes,
Fades from as fast as dew.
But, would you spy her sleeping,
Cradled warm,
Look in the breast of weeping,
The tree stript by storm;
But, would you bind her fast,
Yours at last,
Bed-mate and lover,
Gain the last headland bare
That the cold tides cover,
There may you capture her, there,
Where the sea gives to the ground
Only the drift of the drowned.
Yet, if she slips you, once found,
Push to her uttermost lair
In the low house of despair.
There will she watch by your head,
Sing to you till you be dead,
Then, with your child in her breast,
In another heart build a new nest.

Happy hunting for the name :-)

I guess I will have to let this one out. The poet is Edith Wharton. Thanks to those of you who may have read and thought about it :-)

Name That Novel #24

Here are some words from a character's inner thoughts taken from what classic novel? Title and author, if you please :-)


"Looking at these stars suddenly dwarfed my own troubles and all the gravities of terrestrial life. I thought of their unfathomable distance, and the slow inevitable drift of their movements out of the unknown past into the unknown future."

Luck to all!

And letting this one out as well (no pun intended....honestly!): It is H. G. Well's The Time Machine.

Pointing in the Right Direction

For those of you who have published or consider being published by way of ebook format .... Cheers! The stage has been set by many ereaders flooding the market. The books are all there, ripe for the downloading, so what's holding you back? Oh, I know ... the publishing world, those purists -- agents, publishers, and authors, who still seem to regard anything other than an old-fashioned paper-between-two-covers book edited, produced, and packaged by a traditional publisher to be substandard rubbish. Well, they might as well leave their ideas in the attic along with the cobwebs because it's a brand new world out there.

Just giving it some personal thought, and evidence to substantiate, there are a lot of ebooks out there that need more polishing before they hit the ebook store, but I feel that will change. As more and more legitimate publishers consider first edition ebooks as their strategy, more time and effort will be given to editing. In any case, for those who might want to read more, check out the web article on the opinion of one publisher:

E Publishing Will Replace Traditional Books